Date in year · 1986 · The 1980s

December 23, 1986

On December 23, 1986, voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling. The year's #1 song was "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne and Friends (Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder). Nikolaos Kourtidis, Hillary Scott, Olivia Borlée would arrive in the same year.

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1986

1980s

Featured · December 23, 1986

Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.

The Rutan Model 76 Voyager is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan that became the first to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later on December 23, setting a flight endurance record.

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Around 1986

The year in brief

1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1986th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 986th year of the 2nd millennium, the 86th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1980s decade.

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What happened

On December 23, 1986

1986 Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.

American aircraft; first to fly around the world non-stop, unrefueled (1986)

The Rutan Model 76 Voyager is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan that became the first to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds later on December 23, setting a flight endurance record.

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